With a kinetic energy of∼1051&hthinsp;ergs,supernova explosions influence the birth of stars, are the source of the energetic cosmic-rays that irradiate us on Earth, and collectively, by their prodigious energy and momentum input during the birth of galaxies in the infant universe, may have helped shape the galaxies themselves. The neutrinos produced in great numbers during the supernova event are implicated as the source of their explosive power and their study has exercised supernova modelers for forty years, some of them productive. In this contribution, I summarize various new ideas and speculations concerning supernova physics and the role of neutrinos. In particular, I review possible systematics of nickel yields and explosion energies with progenitor mass, evidence for asymmetries in the explosion itself, evidence for kicks to neutron stars in their supernova cradle, and an example of an important (but hitherto neglected) neutrino production process. I also summarize the expected and dramatic signature in underground neutrino detectors of a galactic stellar collapse and explosion. ©2001 American Institute of Physics.